Springfield CYO basketball highlights

JV Highlights

St. Francis 62

St. Thomas 46

Freshman forward Dan Dickinson played his best game in leading the St. Francis JV basketball squad to their seventh straight league win, a convincing 62-46 victory over St. Thomas. Dickinson tallied 18 points and had two key third quarter steals to help the Bruins pull away in the game. He was assisted nicely in his efforts by Kyle Klosinski who led all scorers with 19 points. Mike Dougherty and Andrew Peranteau chipped in with eight points each, and Nick Santana had five.

St. Francis 64

St. Dot’s B 33

Mike Dougherty scorched the nets for 14 points in leading the JV Bruins past St. Dot’s B by a score of 64 to 33. SFA jumped out to a 33 to 14 halftime lead and it was smooth sailing from there. Coach Milt Hedrick got scoring from nine different players in this contest. Besides Dougherty’s solid contribution, Kevin McKnight also added 13 points. The record of the JV Bruins now stands at 9 and 4 overall, 9 and 3 in league play.

Varsity Highlights

St. Francis 40

Thomas 29

It was what Coach Hedrick called “a strange game” but a win is a win is a win as the Varsity Bruin’s made it four in a row with a 40 to 29 victory over St. Thomas. The Bruins seemed to come alive in the 4th quarter after allowing St. Thomas to keep it close first three quarters. Key players for SFA were Matt Reichert who led all scorers with 16 points and Jeff Peranteau who had eight.

St. Gabe’s 32

St. Francis 30

It is tough tot get a “W” when you just can’t score the ball. Such was the case for the Varsity St. Francis Bruins as they fell to St. Gabe’s by a score of 32 to 30. Coach Hedrick noted that his team made “many mental mistakes” in a game they could have easily won. That plus the fact that they just couldn’t seem to pull on and hold on to a rebound cost them dearly in the outing. Jeff Peranteau continued his hustle and scoring in this game, tallying 14 points for the green and gold.

St. Francis 60

Drexel-Neumann 54

Waking from their slumber during the St. Gabe’s game, the Varsity Bruins played possibly their best game of the season in beating Drexel Neumann by a score of 60 to 54. This was a very solid “team” win against a talented and quick athletic opponent. The Bruins fell behind by as many as 12, but they remained undaunted. Clutch foul-shooting in the 4th quarter helped to seal the win. Matt Reichert and John Oakley were outstanding in this game with 20 and 19 points respectively. They were assisted by Ryan McKnight with 10, Jeff Peranteau with nine, and Kevin Proska with two, both of which came on key 4th quarter fouls shots.

St. Francis 57

Chichester 54

Once again it was a matter of making free-throws when they were needed, as the Varsity Bruins bested Chichester by a score of 57 to 54. Coach Hedrick said this “a great win against a quality opponent,” and he went on to say Matt Reichert was simply “sensational.” Hedrick also added it was nice to see “Pat O’Connell seemed to find his shot.” Reichert led all scorers with 23 points and O’Connell chipped in with nine on three clutch three-pointers.

St. Francis 47

Notre Dame 44

It is now three very big, quality wins in a row for the St. Francis Varsity Bruins, the latest being a 47 to 44 nail-biter over previously unbeaten Notre Dame. Coach Hedrick decided to deploy a man-to-man defense against the tough Fighting Irish, and it turned out to be absolutely stifling.

The high-scoring Irish were held to just five first quarter points, and they had to know from the outset that they were in for a tough battle. Hedrick noted his team played smart basketball, and they hustled over and over again, led by junior John Oakley, who was all over the court. For his efforts, Oakley tallied 14 points for the green and gold. Junior Matt Reichert was also huge again, contributing 16 points. Hedrick pointed out the hustle and determination of Kevin Proska, who finished with eight points, all in the key second half of the game.